


Family Keeps Us Together

by makingitwork



Series: Peter/Stiles [27]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Brotherly Love, Fluff, M/M, Spark Stiles, all that good stuff, alternate viewpoint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-15
Updated: 2016-01-15
Packaged: 2018-05-14 04:06:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5728930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makingitwork/pseuds/makingitwork
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And Love ensures they never leave</p>
            </blockquote>





	Family Keeps Us Together

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt by;
> 
> ghfan98 who said 'a third person outsider's perspective of their relationship. Maybe a next door neighbor gossiping to her bridge club.'

‘I have these neighbours,’ Bella says, as her monthly book club (but it’s not really a book club, not even a little. It’s a gossiping club for all of the friends she made in college who are now all sweet and soft looking and over fifty years old).

Linda looks up from her peppermint tea, humming in interest ‘is that the couple from seven? I’m sure I hadn’t seen that strapping man before. He didn’t smile though, what’s wrong with people nowadays? Nobody smiles. It’s a sin. A great sin.’

‘Blond hair? Very muscular?’ Bella asks, and upon Linda’s nod she smiles happily ‘yes that’s Peter. Now, he’s soul-mated to the young thing- Stiles, very unusual name. I believe it’s a nickname. His mother’s from Poland. They’ve been mated for a few years now, and this is the first time they’ve ever lived together. Did you know there’s a 22 year age difference between the two of them?’

‘Twenty two years?’ Linda nods in amazement ‘well that’s incredible. And they’re happy, you say? Well I suppose they are soulmates.’

‘Now, I know that Peter is rather nice to look at. But unfortunately, he’s a bit of a tyrant. He scares the little kids in the building, and I often hear him walking around upstairs, shifted in wolf form and scratching up carpets in the lobby.’

‘Oh gosh, the Hales!’ Paula pipes up ‘Oh Bella! I know just who you mean!’ Paula lives in the building opposite ‘no sense of decency that pair, let me tell you. And did you know the boy’s father is the Sheriff? Our Sheriff! I don’t know how many times I’ve had to close my blinds to make sure I wasn’t seeing anything.’

Linda snickers ‘I would have kept looking.’ She says without shame Bella smiles ‘Stiles is very sweet. A very nice young boy. He invites people to dinner, and bless him, he tries so hard. He’s a spark, don’t you know? And here I thought I’d live my whole never seeing one. It’s incredible really. He invites the whole building to dinner, brings gift baskets, remembers birthdays, and he’s very considerate. You should see how he blushes the next morning.’

‘The next morning?’

‘Well yes, after all the noise of course. He’s a very noisy little thing. And Peter tells him so too. But you just have to look at Peter to know he likes it. I swear he makes the boy scream and cry and beg like that on perfect.’

‘Oh gracious.’ Paula clasps a hand over her chest ‘it’s not too rough, I hope? The poor dear,’

‘No, no, I believe it to be the intense pleasure.’ Bella shakes her head wistfully ‘the youth these days.’

‘A spark and a were-wolf. Their children- and with the rate they’re going, let’s be rest assured that there will definitely be children involved, are going to be incredibly powerful.’

‘I just hope they have dear Stiles’ sense of decency. That Peter has no shame. But Stiles fixed my television set the other day, and he’s such a dear whenever there’s a power cut, he just goes around creating little balls of light with his spark, and it’s incredibly helpful.’

As Bella is kissing them all goodbye, and they’re all huddled in the door frame, Stiles appears, red faced and panting.

‘Hey, Ms Hudder!’ He beams at her and waves at the other women ‘and your friends. How are you today?’ He’s clutching the bannister, panting.

‘Stiles, you little minx, teleporting is cheating,’ Peter growls and sweeps Stiles up from behind, sucking on his neck, and Stile jerks

‘Peter! Ms Hudder and her friends are right _oh!_ There!’

‘Ms Hudder.’ Peter nods, hoisting Stiles over his shoulder and walking up the steps. Stiles waves goodbye.

Bella chuckles.

…

…

…

‘No!’ Stiles groans, tapping at his laptop, and Peter looks up from his book on the couch when all the lights flicker off. ‘I need the internet, Peter! Do you know how many books there are written in old Latin about supernatural beings in the library? Not many! I need the internet!’ He yelps suddenly ‘Oh my god! Ms Hudder in fourth! We need to go and see if she’s okay-‘ he tumbles off the kitchen counter, and Peter catches him with an eye roll.

‘I’m sure Ms Hudder is capable of lighting some candles, darling,’ he says in a drawl, kissing Stiles’ neck, and his mate goes a little limp in his arms, before edging them both towards the door

‘Come on! We’d be doing her a favour! She might even give you some pasta. You love her pasta.’

…

…

…

When Stiles is six years old, he takes to Derek.

Everyone thinks it’s adorable, even (reluctantly) Peter. Stiles follows him around, and whenever Derek stops, Stiles bumps into his back with an oomf. Derek likes it most of the time, flaunts it over Peter, and he likes Stiles. Ruffles his hair and nuzzles him and carries him when Stiles asks to be carried. But sometimes, Derek is a teenager.

‘I said leave me alone, Stiles!’ Derek roars, and everyone looks up. Stiles has one tiny hand fisted into Derek’s jacket. Derek’s just come home from school, and he’s annoyed he wasn’t picked as centre for Lacrosse. His hormones are all over the place and his wolf is on edge from the nearing full moon.

Stiles pouts up at him ‘but D’rk,’ he says softly, and Derek growls, yanking his jacket out of Stiles’ hand, catching the zipper onto the soft skin, so a small drop of blood forms. Everyone is coming towards them now, and Derek roars

‘You’re just a dumb kid, Stiles! You’re not my little brother! So stop acting like it!’

Stiles cradles his hand, tears forming in his eyes ‘you’re my big brother,’ he says softly, and his heart doesn’t speed up. Derek just huffs and walks away.

‘Don’t worry about him, Stiles, honey,’ Talia says, stroking her fingers through Stiles’ hair, and Laura and Cora nudge the little boy sympathetically ‘Derek’s just going through some tough times at the moment. He’s just becoming a teenager.’

Stiles ignores them, and crawls up the steps, and he sits himself outside of Derek’s door, knocking gently, despite the outrageously loud music playing. Peter comes up later, to see Stiles looking disappointed yet somehow still hopeful, outside of Derek’s door.

‘Stiles, darling,’ he murmurs ‘you should come to bed. Derek’s not coming out.’

‘He doesn’t need too.’ Stiles says defiantly ‘he just needs to know I’m here. Mommy says it’s the thought that counts.’ Peter nods, his wolf growling and wanting to throttle Derek.

When Derek wakes up, he opens his door, and stops in surprise. He should have smelt Stiles, or heard the little heartbeat, but he’d been so caught up in everything. The morning sun is shining brightly, and the little boy is curled up towards Derek’s door. Derek sighs, and he lifts Stiles gently. ‘I’m sorry,’ he mutters, angry at himself. ‘You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re my brother. My little brother.’ Stiles snuffles into Derek’s chest, and sleeps on.

…

…

…

‘Stiles-’

‘Go away, Derek,’ Stiles hisses, wiping his eyes harshly with the arm of his shirt ‘I said I didn’t want to see Peter, and I don’t want to see you either.’

‘Stiles,’ Derek steps further onto the preserve. Stiles is sitting on a log, right near the edge of a large blue pond, and all the brown mud and soil and branches look almost gold in the quiet light. ‘You can’t bottle yourself like this.’ He sits down beside him, and wraps an arm around over his shoulder. Stiles is so tiny, he’s trembling with still more tears. Derek let’s him cry, holding him tight. Holding him together.

‘It’s not fair.’ Stiles insists ‘it’s not fair. You should have bitten her! I’ve researched it! The bite saves lives! You could have saved her!’

‘Stiles,’ Derek pushes his chin against Stiles’ head, growling a little in his chest. Stiles is pack. ‘She didn’t want it. She chose what she wanted. She’d want you to be happy.’

Stiles swallows thickly ‘my daddy,’ he says, and reaches down to touch the soil. ‘We’re alone.’

‘You’re not alone.’ Derek swears instantly, vehemently ‘you have us. Always. Always Stiles. In more ways than you know, and you have to trust me on this. Sometimes...sometimes bad things happen to good people, but the world has a way of balancing itself out again. We’re with you. Okay?’ Stiles doesn’t say anything, but Derek knows he’s thinking about it. He’s got that thinking, intelligent face.

He doesn’t realise he’s spoken aloud until Stiles scoffs with a half-smile ‘thinking, intelligent face?’

‘Don’t mock me. You’re the one who does it.’

…

…

…  


Derek doesn’t say a word. He watches, eyes wide and petrified.

Stiles is nineteen, and he’s in the woods, a long way from Beacon Hills. He’d said he was travelling to meet Ben, but after Derek had called Ben to send Stiles home, Ben has reported that Stiles hadn’t arranged to meet him. Derek had decided not to tell Peter, and to find Stiles himself.

He wishes he hadn’t.

Derek doesn’t know much about magic, but he knows dark magic when he sees it.

Those things, those clawing shadows coming up from the ground and moaning and groaning and clinging to Stiles, who just chants louder and then bursts a light yellow, nearly white little firework spark up above him with a thrust of his whole body-

But nothing happens.

It fades and glitter falls around him, and the shadows recede.

Stiles falls to the ground, drained.

Derek doesn’t move.

Derek doesn’t say a word.

But Stiles sits up, rubbing at his back, sees Derek and freezes. His eyes are wide, mouth slightly open. Derek watches his little brother, at one time his beta, at one time his emissary, at one time his pack equal- but always, always family.

‘Don’t tell Peter,’ Stiles says in a rush, and Derek steps forward a little, as Stiles is on his knees, shaking, exhausted.

‘You were trying to…oh my god, you were trying to…’ he clamps his jaw together ‘Stiles.’

‘Don’t do that,’ Stiles murmurs, falls onto his heels, looking very small and Derek’s reminded of how young he is. ‘Don’t say my name like that.’

Derek gets to his knees too, so they’re equal. ‘Like what?’

‘Like you’re…disappointed. Like you’re afraid. Like you’re worried, and you care.’

‘I do care, Stiles.’ Derek says, and Stiles touches the ground.

‘I just wanted to _try,_ Derek.’ He implores, meeting his eyes, so earnest and hopeful and sad ‘I had to try! Don’t I owe her that? One more time- just once more-‘

‘Stiles.’ Derek doesn’t know what to say. Doesn’t know how to say it. You just…you can’t. You can’t do that. He hopes his look displays it adequately. Stiles launches at him, hugging Derek, and Derek remembers his little brother. The one he thought he’d lost to Scott, and then to Peter. The little boy who followed him around adoringly when he was six years old, and thought Derek hung the moon up into the sky. Who thought Derek was the master of video games and skateboarding and pretty girls.

Derek hugs him just as fiercely, a longing appearing suddenly. Something he didn’t even know he missed. This is Stiles. His brother. His fricking Uncle-In-Law. His family. His pack. He feels as though he almost lost him. His claws poke out unintentionally into the small of Stiles’ back and he doesn’t mean to say it aloud;

‘I thought I’d lost you.’

Stiles clutches him with shaking fingers ‘I’m sorry,’ he whispers ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry. You’ll always be my big brother. I’ll need you always, always, always,’

Derek doesn’t know how long they lie there, in each other’s arms, remembering each other.

‘Don’t do it again, Stiles,’ Derek says quietly, and Stiles nods into his neck

‘I won’t. But you get it, don’t you? That I had to try?’

‘I do. And you did. Things happen for a reason, you believe that. You have a good life.’

Stiles smiles softly, ‘let’s go home,’ he nods.

Derek doesn’t know whether he means his own apartment, Derek’s apartment, the Hale house, the Sheriff’s house, to Peter, to Scott, or all of the above.

He just knows it means together.

**Author's Note:**

> Steadily working on your other, brilliant prompts!
> 
> x


End file.
